This invention relates to seals, and, more particularly, to flexible seals which are particularly well adapted for use with adjustable dockboards, and the like.
A primary object of the present invention is to afford a novel seal.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel flexible seal for use with adjustable dockboards.
Adjustable dockboards, for use in the floors of loading docks, and the like, are well known in the art, being shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,924,336 issued to G. P. Kelley on Mar. 14, 1961; U.S. Pat. No. 3,117,332, issued to G. P. Kelley et al on Jan. 14, 1964; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,137,017, issued to R. H. Pflager et al on June 16, 1964. As is well known to those skilled in the art, one troublesome and common problem in the use of dockboards of the aforementioned type has been the relatively free circulation of air therethrough into and out of the buildings in which such dockboards have been used, thus creating a heating and/or cooling problem. Various manners of trying to overcome this problem have been heretofore tried, such as, for example, using a drop-curtain on the dockboard, or permanently closing in the front of the depression over which the dockboard is located. Such previous attempts to solve the aforementioned problem have had several inherent disadvantages, such as, for example, not being practical and efficient in operation; being complicated in construction and operation; not being reliable in operation; requiring undesired modifications; or being expensive to install, and the like. It is an important object of the present invention to overcome such disadvantages.
Another manner of overcoming the aforementioned problem is disclosed in my previously filed application for U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 107,034, filed Dec. 26, 1979, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,969. This last mentioned manner involves the use of an inflatable seal, which has proven highly successful, efficient and effective in operation. It is an object of the present invention to afford a novel seal for use with adjustable dockboards, which seal, while being successful, efficient and effective in operation, is simpler in construction and operation than the aforementioned inflatable seal.
A further object of the present invention is to afford a novel inflatable seal which is effective to seal the entire front of the depression over which such a dockboard is located.
An object which is ancillary to the foregoing is to afford a novel flexible seal of the aforementioned type, which is so constituted and arranged that the side edges thereof are effectively held in sealing engagement with the side walls of such a depression in a novel and expeditious manner.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel seal of the aforementioned type which may be quickly and easily installed in operative position in an adjustable dockboard unit.
A further object of the present invention is to afford a novel seal of the aforementioned type which is practical and efficient in operation, and which may be readily and economically produced commercially.
Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.